Claudia sat down beside Stiles on the couch, and pulled out a pad of paper.

"Alright," She said. "Who do you want to invite to your birthday party?"

Stiles thought for a moment. "What's the maximum kids I can ask?" He said, trying to figure out which of his classmates he'd have to cut out of the party.

"You can have eight kids." Claudia said. "Firstly, let's put Scott on here. Now we have seven more kids to invite."

"Lydia." Stiles said, his eyes lighting up. "And Isaac."

She wrote down the names, and waited patiently while he mulled it over.

"Oh! Danny! Simon and Abigail from down the street. And Jackson. And Derek." Stiles said, excitedly bouncing in his seat. She wrote all the names down, and looked over.

"Okay, do you want to go bowling like last year, or go to the swimming pool for your party?" Claudia asked.

"Swimming." Stiles said, grinning from ear to ear.

They went to the store to buy invitations, and candy to put in the goody bags. Stiles picked out two bags of balloons, and some streamers.

"What do you want on your birthday cake?" Claudia asked, as they checked out the bakery section. Stiles flipped through the binder, until he found the Batman cake . He'd had his heart set on it for weeks now.

"This one, definitely." He said, showing her the picture.

"That looks awesome." She said, as she ordered the cake.

The day of the party, Stiles was so excited that he was officially nine years old. He raced downstairs, and hugged his mom as she flipped the pancakes on the stove.

"Hey, honey." She said. Stiles couldn't help but notice how exhausted she looked, there were large bags under her eyes, and she looked bleary-eyed.

"Mom, did you sleep at all last night?" Stiles asked, concerned. "Was it another nightmare?"

Claudia winced when she saw how upset her son was, as she put the browned pancake onto his plate. "It's nothing to worry about, I just had trouble sleeping last night." She said, giving him a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Stiles didn't look convinced, as he continued to watch her during breakfast.

"Are you all ready for your party?" Claudia asked him, trying to distract him from her lack of sleep. "Wonder what you'll get for your presents."

Stiles and his friends thoroughly enjoyed the party, from the batman cake to the blue and black balloons and streamers, to the candy-filled goody bags for each child. They swum in the public pool for two hours, playing monkey in the middle, and practising dives off the diving board.

Stiles laughed gleefully, as he ripped into his presents. He received a lego set, and some new cd's, from Jackson and Danny. He also received three books, and a lightsaber toy.

As the adults were cleaning up from the party, Scott pulled Stiles aside.

"Dude, did your mom have the MRI yet?" he whispered. "She looks so tired."

Stiles shook his head. "I don't think so." He told him. "I think her nightmares are getting worse, though." He said, remembering the nights he woke up to hear his mom screaming in the next room. Stiles often wondered what she was dreaming about – what had terrified her so much.

"I'm scared, Scott." Stiles admitted, staring at his best friend. "What if I lose her?"